Religious ideals often emphasize the importance of maintaining childlike innocence and purity, which can lead to the view that maturity is a negative thing that must be avoided or resisted.
This view of maturity may actually limit individuals' ability to fully explore their sexuality and form deep, meaningful connections with others. In this article, I will examine how religious teachings about maturity and innocence have impacted attitudes towards sex, intimacy, and romantic relationships.
Most religions teach that children are inherently pure and innocent, while adults are corrupted by sin and temptation. This binary view of childhood versus adulthood has led many people to believe that maturing into an adult means losing one's innocence and becoming corrupt.
This belief can also perpetuate the idea that intimate relationships are dangerous and threatening, since they involve surrendering control and vulnerability. As a result, many people may fear getting too close to someone out of fear of being "tainted" by them.
This fear of loss of innocence can also affect people's approach to sex. Many religions teach that premarital sex is wrong because it involves giving in to temptation and desires, but this attitude can create shame around sexual desire and pleasure. This shame can lead to repression and avoidance of healthy exploration of sexuality, which can harm both physical and emotional well-being. It can also make it harder for people to communicate honestly and openly about their needs and desires in a relationship.
The idealization of innocence can also lead to unrealistic expectations for relationships. People who hold onto the idea that true love should be pure and perfect may find themselves disappointed when real life relationships don't match up to these ideals. They may feel like their partner is tainting or corrupting them if they stray from these ideals, even if it's something as simple as having different opinions or making mistakes. This can lead to resentment and conflict within the relationship.
Religious teachings about maturity and innocence can have negative consequences for women in particular. Women are often held to higher standards of purity than men, with the idea that they must remain virgins until marriage and never engage in sexual activity outside of marriage. This puts an undue burden on women to maintain this level of innocence, while men are given more leeway to explore their sexuality. This double standard can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and self-loathing among women, and can make it difficult for them to form meaningful connections with partners.
The idealization of childlike innocence can limit individuals' ability to fully explore their sexuality and intimacy, leading to fear, shame, and miscommunication in relationships. By challenging these religious beliefs and redefining maturity as a process of growth rather than loss, we can create healthier attitudes towards sex, relationships, and love.
How does religious idealization of innocence redefine maturity as loss rather than growth?
The concept of religious idealization of innocence has been explored by scholars such as Freud (1930), Fromm (1952) and Goffman (1967). According to them, childhood is associated with innocence and purity, while adulthood entails sexual and moral experience, which make it difficult for adults to maintain their sense of purity and innocence.